You are probably wondering how to choose between a smartphone that runs on Android or iOS operating system. In this article we are going to see three important steps you can consider to make the decision, but before we look at them, let’s fast learn something about the two smartphones operating systems.
What does the two operating systems do?
The iOS and Android operating system are a software, they provide a way for you to communicate to the hardware of your smartphone, they also manage operations of the hardware. For example, when you want to take a photo, the operating system will provide you with a means to open the camera, capture the photo and store it, if you will need to use the photo in future, the OS will retrieve it from the hardware storage.
Which companies own the two operating systems?
Android is owned by Google and is an open source software while iOS is owned by Apple Inc and used for the company smartphones.
Which country are the owner companies from?
The Companies that own the operating systems are from The United States of America. The image below shows the headquarters of both, Google on the left and Apple Inc on the right.
Are iOS and Android the only Smartphone Operating Systems?
No, despite them been the two major players in the smartphones software production, there are other OS for the smartphones, for example, Windows phone, BlackBerry OS, KaiOS, Open WebOS, MeeGo and many more
Where do I get applications?
For Android, the official application store is Google play Link, for iOS, the official application store is App Store Link. It is also worth noting that applications for both are available on different websites and apps, however due to security reasons, it is advisable to Install applications only from the official stores.
How do I choose between IOS and Android?
The two have super technologies in smartphones software technologies. To make an effective choice between the two, you will have to consider the intended use of the smartphone. Here a 3 guidelines to help you choose.
After getting a background of the two Operating systems, lets now see the three important steps to help you choose which to go by.
Also see: The Ultimate guide on how to chose a smartphone
1. Features
As mentioned earlier, the intend use is the real determinant of you choice. For you to be able to achieve you intended purpose, you will need a smartphone that can perform the required tasks.
Note: The features will depend on the hardware the operating system is running on.
When it comes to features, Android smartphones will have a pool of them to choose from, this is because the OS is opensource and hence used by hundreds of mobile phones manufacturers, for each manufacturer to stand out, they will have to provide unique features, the competition have led to high robust Android smartphones.
For iOS the number of devices to choose from are minimal, this means the features flexibility are limited, though you will rarely lack an Iphone with the features you are looking for.
If you are very concerned with Security, a smartphone using iOS will be the best to go by, since Android is open source, it means security risks e.g spying from the manufacturers are high.
2. Cost
This a very important consideration, after you have chosen the features you need and decided between iOS and Android, go a head and compare the cost of a similar smartphone running on the other Operating System. Am sure you don’t wanna pay more if you can get a smartphone with similar capabilities at a lesser cost.
Are iOS expensive than Android smartphones?
It is commonly perceived that iOS are expensive than Android smartphones, these is not true, what is true is that, iOS phones are only available at a higher cost while Android phones are available at both cost ends, that is, low and high.
Cost is very important, it will even help you choose between smartphones running on the same operating system as you will learn on the guide here
3. Applications
To most mobile user, these might not appear to be an important consideration, however, to any one who wants to use a smartphone for a specif task, it is important to research whether the applications to help accomplish this are available for the particular operating system. It is common to find one OS lacking application that the other one have.